"Diva A diva (; ) is a celebrated female singer; a woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, and by extension in theatre, cinema and popular music. The meaning of ""diva"" is closely related to that of ""prima donna"". The word entered the English language in the late 19th century. It is derived from the Italian noun ""diva"", a female deity. The plural of the word in English is ""divas""; in Italian, ""dive"" . The basic sense of the term is ""goddess"", the feminine of the Latin word ""divus"" (Italian ""divo""), someone deified after death, or Latin ""deus"","
"a god. The male form exists in Italian and is usually reserved for the most prominent leading tenors, like Enrico Caruso and Beniamino Gigli. The Italian term """" describes the star-making system in the film industry. In contemporary Italian, ""diva"" and ""divo"" simply denote much-admired celebrities, especially film actresses and actors, and can be translated as ""(film) star"". The Italian actress Lyda Borelli is considered the first cinematic diva, following her breakthrough role in ""Love Everlasting"" (1913). An extravagant admiration for divas is a common element of camp culture. In 1992, singer Annie Lennox released her first post-Eurythmics album ""Diva""."
"The same year, En Vogue released their album ""Funky Divas"". In 1998, VH1 debuted its first annual ""VH1 Divas"" concert. In may 10th 1998 Dana International from Israel won the Eurocisionsongcontest (european music competition) with a song titled ""diva"" On January 20, 2009, singer Beyoncé Knowles released a single from her third studio album titled ""Diva"". Sarah Brightman's 2006 compilation is called ""Diva: The singles collection"" Diva can also refer to a woman, especially one in show business, with a reputation for being temperamental, demanding, or difficult to work with. Diva A diva (; ) is a celebrated female singer;"
"Maria Callas Maria Callas, Commendatore OMRI (; ; December 2, 1923 – September 16, 1977) was an American-born Greek soprano. She was one of the most renowned and influential opera singers of the 20th century. Many critics praised her ""bel canto"" technique, wide-ranging voice and dramatic interpretations. Her repertoire ranged from classical ""opera seria"" to the ""bel canto"" operas of Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini and further, to the works of Verdi and Puccini; and, in her early career, to the music dramas of Wagner. Her musical and dramatic talents led to her being hailed as ""La Divina"". Born in New"
"Milva Maria Ilva Biolcati, (; born 17 July 1939), known as Milva , is an Italian singer, stage and film actress, and television personality. She is also known as ""La Rossa"" (Italian for ""The Redhead""), due to the characteristic colour of her hair, and additionally as ""La Pantera di Goro"" (""The Panther of Goro""), which stems from the Italian press having nicknamed the three most popular Italian female singers of the 1960s, combining the names of animals and the singers' birth places. The color also characterizes her leftist political beliefs, claimed in numerous statements. Popular in Italy and abroad, she"
"gay in the middle of it, and I strolled over to the piano at this point and sat down and the pin . . . came undone, and into my derrière. I’ve never sung so high and so fast in my . . . I sounded like Vivian, Vivian Della Chiesa.” Vivian Della Chiesa Vivian Della Chiesa (October 9, 1915 – January 6, 2009) was an American lyric soprano who achieved a high level of popularity in the United States singing on the radio during the 1940s and the early 1950s. She performed a wide variety of classical and popular"
"the two singers. The designation ""prima donna assoluta"" (absolute first lady) is occasionally applied to a prima donna of outstanding excellence. It has also been used to describe the creators of heroic coloratura roles in the first half of the 19th century. At times, these ""prime donne"" (the Italian plural form) were grand with their off-stage personalities and demands on fellow troupe members, musicians, set and wardrobe designers, producers and other staff, but were deferentially tolerated because of their consummate talent and their draw at the box office. From this experience, the term ""prima donna"" has come into common usage"
"Mina (Italian singer) Anna Maria Mazzini (born 25 March 1940), Anna Maria Quaini (for the Swiss civil registry), known as Mina Mazzini or simply Mina, is an Italian singer. She was a staple of television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the 1960s to the mid-1970s, known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an emancipated woman. In performance, Mina combined several modern styles with traditional Italian melodies and swing music, which made her the most versatile pop singer in Italian music. Mina dominated the country's charts"
"immense power. Herva Nelli may not possess a voice of distinctive beauty, but she is committed to the drama and lives every moment through the music. Both of Aida's big arias are handled with care and conviction, the 'O patria mia' particularly nuanced and convincing. Yes, one could wish for a longer, more ""dolce"" high C, but her reading of the aria is mesmerizing…."" Herva Nelli Herva Nelli (January 9, 1909May 31, 1994) was an Italian-born operatic soprano. Named after the French socialist Gustave Hervé, she was born in Florence, where she attended a convent school. At the age of"
"Giorgia (singer) Giorgia Todrani, best known as Giorgia (born 26 April 1971) is an Italian female singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and radio host. Known for her soulful voice, which is aided by a wide vocal range, high belting register and great vocal abilities. She is one of the most iconic and famous Italian singers. She has released ten studio albums, which all enjoyed good commercial success in Italy. Giorgia has become fairly well known throughout Europe as an ambassador for Italian pop music, and has also achieved moderate success in Canada and Latin America. For her voice's qualities she"
"new singers. Maria Chiara Maria Chiara (born 24 November 1939) is an Italian lyric soprano. She was born in Oderzo and studied at the Venice Conservatory and in Turin with bass Antonio Cassinelli and soprano Maria Carbone. She made her debut in Venice in 1965, as Desdemona in ""Otello"". She frequently performed roles from the operas of Giacomo Puccini and Giuseppe Verdi, including ""Aida"" (a La Scala production directed by Luca Ronconi is available on DVD), Violetta Valéry in ""La traviata"", and the title roles in ""Tosca"" and ""Madama Butterfly"". Although retired as a performer, she remains active in the"
"Gilda Mignonette Griselda Andreatini, better known by the stage name Gilda Mignonette (28 October 1890 in Naples – 8 June 1953), was a Neapolitan singer of international fame in the early 20th Century. She began her career as a singer in theatrical revue shows, where she became a popular ""sciantosa"" (i.e., a diva), but later dedicated herself mostly to the canzone napoletana genre, recording with major labels such as Columbia and HMV, and touring intensively abroad. In the mid-1920s, she moved to New York, where she reached the apex of her international popularity with Neapolitan classics such as ""A cartulina"
"popular style of opera singing evolved from the light and elaborate music of that era to the louder and more speech-like singing of the middle and later 19th century. In the popular music of the West ""messa di voce"" has been even less common. It still appears occasionally in some of the more ornate styles of popular music, however, like black gospel and other styles influenced by it. Modern mainstream vocalists who have showcased messa di voce include Beyoncé, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. Messa di voce Messa di voce (Italian, ""placing of voice"") is a singing technique that requires"
"Gilda (singer) Miriam Alejandra Bianchi (11 October 1961 – 7 September 1996), known by her stage name as Gilda (pronounced /ˈʃil.da/) was an Argentine cumbia singer and songwriter. Her stage name was chosen in honour of the ""femme fatale"" character played by Rita Hayworth in ""Gilda"", the eponymous film. Gilda started getting involved in music while organizing festivals at a Catholic school. After meeting musician and agent Juan Carlos ""Toti"" Giménez, Gilda became a backup singer, joining a band called ""La Barra"" and soon participated in a second band called ""Crema Americana"". In 1993, Giménez convinced her to start a"
"Vaya Con Dios (band) Vaya Con Dios (Spanish for ""Go with God!"") was a Belgian music act, that stood out for its mixing of styles, as well as the distinctive voice of its lead singer Dani Klein. It was one of the most successful Belgian music acts ever, having sold more than 7 million albums and more than 3 million singles. It was founded in 1986, but after 1991 Vaya Con Dios was for the most part a one woman band, centered on singer, lyricist, band leader and (co-)producer Dani Klein, reinforced by an ever-changing selection of musicians. In 2014,"
"Carmen Villani Carmen Villani (born 21 May 1944) is a former Italian pop singer and actress. She had a recognisable voice and an outstanding musical sense. Villani was a versatile performer, featuring elements of gospel and blues. She is considered among the finest examples of the early beat music in Italy. She also collaborated with some of the top film scorers in Italy. Villani's fame was limited to her homeland, where she charted records and gave several performances broadcast nationwide by RAI. After her failure to chart hits in the early 1970s, she became an actress in commedia sexy all'italiana"
"a Name""). Irene Grandi Irene Grandi (born 6 December 1969) is an Italian singer, songwriter, record producer, musician, actress and television host. During her career she has sung in Spanish and has performed duets in German, French, Indian and in African languages, selling around 5 million records and earning 9 top-ten albums and 6 top-ten singles of which one number-one on the Italian music charts. She has participated four times at the Sanremo Music Festival gaining the podium in 2000. Grandi has performed for six times at the Festivalbar, conquering twice the platform and winning the Radio Awards. In the"
"Gilda (Italian singer) Gilda (born Rosangela Scalabrino on May 31, 1950) is an Italian singer. In 1975 she won the Sanremo Music Festival with the song ""Ragazza del sud"". Born in Masserano, Gilda started her career as the vocalist in a local band. After failing to qualify in a previous edition of the festival, she debuted at the 25th edition of the Sanremo Music Festival an won the competition with a song composed by herself, ""Ragazza del sud"", which was heavily criticized for its anti-feminist lyrics. After a few further singles, Gilda got married and started managing a hotel in"
"Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli, (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and record producer. Celine Dion has said that ""if God would have a singing voice, he must sound a lot like Andrea Bocelli,"" and David Foster, a record producer, often describes Bocelli's voice as the most beautiful in the world. Bocelli has recorded 15 solo studio albums of both pop and classical music, three greatest hits albums, and nine complete operas, selling over 90 million records worldwide. He has had success as a crossover performer, bringing classical music to the top of international pop charts. He"
"Lisa Della Casa Lisa Della Casa (2 February 191910 December 2012) was a Swiss soprano most admired for her interpretations of major heroines in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Richard Strauss, and of German lieder. She was also described as “the most beautiful woman on the operatic stage”. Della Casa was born in Burgdorf, Switzerland to an Italian-Swiss father, Francesco Della Casa, and a Bavarian-born mother, Margarete Mueller. She began studying singing at the age of 15 at the Zurich Conservatory, and her teachers included Margarete Haeser. She made her operatic debut in the title role of Puccini's ""Madama"
"Roger Sessions, Siegfried Strohbach, Michael Tippett, and Kurt Weill. Cantata A cantata (literally ""sung"", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ""cantare"", ""to sing"") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice ""cantata da camera"" and the ""cantata da chiesa"" of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of"
"Tarquinia Molza Tarquinia Molza (1 November 1542 – 8 August 1617) was an Italian singer, poet, conductor, composer, and natural philosopher. She was considered a great ""virtuosa"". She was involved with the famous ""Concerto delle donne"", although whether she sang with them or coached them is not clear. She also played the viola bastarda. Molza was born in Modena, the granddaughter of the poet , and the daughter of Camillus and Isabella Colombi. Her father agreed that she should have the same education as her brothers, and she learned Greek, Latin, Hebrew, and philosophy until she was sixteen. She studied"
"Lolita (Italian singer) Graziella Franchini (5 January 1950 - 27 April 1986), better known as Lolita, was an Italian pop singer. Born in Castagnaro, Verona, in the second half of the 1960s Lolita won several music festivals, including the and the . She became first known in 1969, thanks to her participation to the Festival di Napoli, where she was finalist with two songs, and to the RAI musical show ""Settevoci"", where she launched her hit ""Come le rose"". In the following years Lolita took part to some of the most important musical events in Italy, including Un disco per"
"but very Italian-centered and hardly international. The only main international Italian pop-singers include 1970s pop-diva Mina, who sold 76 million records worldwide in her lifetime, and singer Laura Pausini, who has sold 45 million albums. La Scala opera house in Milan is renowned as one of the best in the world. There are other famous venues for opera, including San Carlo in Naples, La Fenice Theatre in Venice, and the Roman arena in Verona. Additionally, there are fifteen publicly owned theaters and numerous privately run ones in Italy. These theaters promote Italian and European plays as well as ballets. Famous"
"Vivian Della Chiesa Vivian Della Chiesa (October 9, 1915 – January 6, 2009) was an American lyric soprano who achieved a high level of popularity in the United States singing on the radio during the 1940s and the early 1950s. She performed a wide variety of classical and popular works from opera to musical theatre, jazz, and popular songs. She sang on a number of radio programs during her career, including ""The American Album of Familiar Music"", ""The American Melody Hour"", and ""The Standard Hour"" among others. A particularly important triumph for her radio career was a 1943 radio concert"
"Viola Valentino Virginia Minnetti (born July 1, 1949 in Canzo), best known by her stage name Viola Valentino, is an Italian singer. Minnetti started her career as a singer in 1968 under the name Virginia and later began to sing with her then husband in a duet named Renzo & Virginia. Some time later Virginia was noticed by Giancarlo Lucariello, a producer of the Italian rock band ""Pooh"". It was he who created an image of a sexy but delicate woman for her as well as her manner to sing with a subdued voice. In 1979, Virginia starts singing under"
"Cantata A cantata (literally ""sung"", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ""cantare"", ""to sing"") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning of the term changed over time, from the simple single voice madrigal of the early 17th century, to the multi-voice ""cantata da camera"" and the ""cantata da chiesa"" of the later part of that century, from the more substantial dramatic forms of the 18th century to the usually sacred-texted 19th-century cantata, which was effectively a type of short oratorio. Cantatas for use in the liturgy of"
"Valeria Lynch María Cristina Lancelotti (January 7, 1952 in Buenos Aires), better known by her stage name Valeria Lynch, is an Argentine singer and actress. Named by the New York Times as one of the 5 best voices on the planet. Valeria Lynch was born on January 7, 1952 in the neighborhood of Villa Urquiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina, the first child of the marriage of María Antonia Spano (Tony) and José Julio Lancellotti. At age 14 while studying at the Commercial College Donato Álvarez in the neighborhood of La Paternal, she defined her vocation and began to study singing with"
"Vitaa Charlotte Gonin (born 14 March 1983), known by her stage name Vitaa, is a French singer. She sold over 1.6 million records in France. She has over 700 million views between her two channels. She is known for her soulful voice. In 2018, she is the most listened woman on French radios. She was discovered by DJ Kost, who organized a duet with Dadoo. It was this song, ""Pas à pas"" (""Step by Step""), where she was first called Vitaa. Vitaa worked for several years in collaboration with various hip hop and R&B artists and eventually with Diam's and"
"Giannetti, portrays a typical sciantosa (played by Anna Magnani). Sciantosa In Italian theatrical culture, the term sciantosa (; ) refers to a stock character that developed from the late 19th Century through the early 20th Century in such popular genres such as café-concert, variety show, ""avanspettacolo"", and revue. The term is a distortion of the French word (feminine form of ""singer""), and was originally used for female singers that performed opera or operetta arias in ""café-chantant"" venues. As such, the ""sciantosa"" was a sort of scaled-down version of the opera ""diva"". Later on, the term acquired further implications, most notably"
"1959, family-related reasons caused her to retire from the stage. Carla Gavazzi Carla Gavazzi (February 26, 1913 in Bergamo – May 25, 2008 in Milan) was an Italian operatic soprano, largely based in Italy, and particularly associated with the verismo repertory. Carla Gavazzi was one of many talented Italian sopranos from the 1950s, who were eclipsed by the likes of Renata Tebaldi and Maria Callas. She possessed a powerful, warm and vibrant voice combined with expressive delivery and fine musicianship. She made her debut as Mimi in ""La bohème"", in 1940, and sang throughout Italy in the standard lirico-spinto repertory,"
"Gianna Galli Gianna Galli (29 April 1935 – 22 December 2010) was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active international career from the 1950s through the 1970s. She specialized in the lyric soprano repertoire and was particularly known for her portrayals of Puccini heroines. Born in Modena, Galli began studying singing in her youth. In 1952, at the age of 17, she won the international singing competition in Spoleto. Later that year, she made her professional opera debut at the Teatro Comunale Modena. Her career progressed rapidly, and she was soon heard in major opera houses internationally. She became"
"Eartha Kitt Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith, January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer, actress, dancer, activist, author and songwriter, known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of ""C'est si bon"" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash ""Santa Baby"", which were both US Top 10 hits. Orson Welles once called her the ""most exciting woman in the world"". Kitt began her career in 1942 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical ""Carib Song"". In the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 hits, including ""Uska"